would thier bodys be decayed/gone...or presevered in there still?
2007-10-04 16:03:04 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Once i read the question.. i was actually wondering that myself.. so i did a little research.
This excerpt is from a salvage of USS West Virginia, which sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack. "During the salvage operations sixty-six bodies were recovered from the West Virginia... In most cases they were in an advanced state of decomposition, and considerably dismembered."
The report was sent in on June 15, 1942. With that being said.. i believe it is safe to say that any unrecovered bodies from the sunken ships, are gone/decayed by now.
2007-10-04 16:34:35 · answer #1 · answered by afromatic75 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Those mortal remains which could be recovered were recovered and buried in various cemeteries. Some were interred in the Punchbowl Veterans Cemetery on Oahu. Only two battleships remained in a sunken condition. They are USS Arizona (BB-39) and USS Oklahoma (BB-37). All the other ships were raised from the bottom, the mortal remains on board recovered and sent off for final disposition via burial. After being refitted, those same battleships went on to fight the Japanese in several engagements during the war.
One of my instructors in Navy Hospital Corps School (HM1 Raymond) was a Navy diver who entered the sunken hulls and recovered many of the remains with his team. But, there were mortal remains which did not get recovered from the Arizona. So, the ship is their coffin.
2007-10-04 18:25:04 · answer #2 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As I was watching the Histories Channels show on the Raising of the Confederate Submarine HUNLEY the reporters stated they were able to find the skeletal remains of the crewmen. This sub was sunk in 1864 and lay in 220 feet of salt water. I would say If the Battleship Arizona was opened up their would still be skeletal remains as it has rested on the bottom of Pearl Harbor in salt water since only 1941. But it will never take place it is a National Memorial.
2007-10-04 18:02:44 · answer #3 · answered by Ed P 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As for the "Hunley" there were no remains after this period of time. There is a lot of urban legends but for fact, no bodies remain intact after a short period of time under water, no matter where, or what the condition are.
In the Hunley a part of a "spy-glass" what it was called back then and part of a "watch" and some "buttons" made of brass is all that was found and, the ship was locked tight and free of any outside interference.
Between sea parasites and other sea animals like the Hag fish, a body will last no longer then a few weeks under water in the Ocean.
2007-10-04 21:48:08 · answer #4 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
sometimes the water helps preserves the bodies as long as the current isn't strong - however its been a really long time simce pearl harbor!
2007-10-04 16:07:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
depends on what part of the ship they died in... air tight or not, but most of us chose not to look at it that way.. they are our heros. that is their tomb. If that had happened today, they would have pulled the ship up I think... but its ok, to have such a majestic sight to remember them at..
2007-10-04 16:19:26 · answer #6 · answered by Deborah C 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋